EAST COAST PALATE

I decided last night to try two Malbecs side by side.  The prospect of this tasting had me excited, ready for a good matchup of two bottles of the hottest grape varietal around.  Then I opened these bottles and smelled each contender.  This is when things started to go downhill. 
The 2008 Elsa Bianchi, from Argentina ($12), had a faintly chemical aroma that masked the little grape and blueberry that was barely present.  The wine in my mouth started smooth and fruity, but quickly dissolved into a bitter aftertaste.  Overall it lacks any complexity and is a B- at best.
The 2005 Pigmentum Malbec from France wasn't much better...it's aroma was a nice, resiny mixture of dry fruits and dusty plums.  It had a little bit more of a tannic structure than the Elsa Bianchi, but lacked any finish and was for me equally disappointing.  For $12, this Malbec really didn't give me my money's worth, either.
I was hyped up about this flight, but it turned out to be like watching a soccer match that ends in a 0-0 tie.  I remember working at Syzygy in Walla Walla, WA, standing on the edges of binfuls of fermenting Malbec and the smells rising up to me as I punched down (just a mixing up of the grape skins and juice) the cap of grapes into the juice as it fermentened.  There is something about malbec that is lush and sensuous and sexy when it is made right, but neither of the wines tried last night really did much for me.